Golden Gates Lodge And Entrance Screen

Golden Gates Lodge and entrance screen, dating before 1865, was designed by William Nesfield. The building is constructed of red English bond brick with ashlar dressings and a slate roof. The lodge is two storeys high and sits to the right of a driveway, flanked by screen walls. A recessed gateway is positioned at the centre of the drive. The lodge features a projecting two-storey bay with four central lights and single lights at the angles on the ground floor, all with stone surrounds, a style consistent across all windows. The first floor has three central lights with wide ashlar quoins and brick walling to the angles. Blue brick diapering in a zig-zag pattern is found immediately below this first-floor window. A lean-to extension to the right contains a two-light ground floor window and tumbled brickwork to the half gable. A projecting gabled wing on the left-hand front has a three-light window on both the ground and first floors, with a transom and two mullions to the ground floor window. To the right and above this is a projecting ground floor bay of three lights with a transom and brattished parapet, topped by a blind ashlar panel displaying a shield bearing the coat of arms of the Crewe family on the first floor. A section of walling with ashlar bands runs to the right of the building, continuing to project forward and incorporating a series of small, round-headed arches with ashlar springers and keystones in its upper section. Similar walling is present to the left of the driveway. Moulded ashlar coping tops all walling, and the angles are marked by square brick piers with flush ashlar bands and pierced finials of Jacobean form. Four ashlar piers of square section, decorated with strapwork in relief, demarcate the sides of the driveway. The lodge’s style reflects Nesfield’s designs for the farm buildings at Shipley Hall (1860-61), incorporating zig-zag diapering and flush ashlar bands, reminiscent of the domestic architecture of Burges and Street. William Nesfield's father had previously designed gardens for the estate, suggesting the lodge may have been among his early commissions.